Samsung UN32C6500 32-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV (Black) From Samsung

Samsung UN32C6500 32-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV (Black) From Samsung List Price: $1,199.99 Price: $1,097.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Beach Camera 15 new or used available from $653.99 Average customer review:

Product Description

Samsung LED HDTVs combine breakthrough picture quality and advanced connectivity options that will keep you entertained 24/7. This UN32C6500 LED HDTV also makes it easy to be green, and will save you some green, by being ENERGY STAR compliant.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24180 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: UN32C6500
• Released on: 2010-04-16
• Dimensions: 21.20" h x 30.30" w x 10.50" l, 22.00 pounds
• Display size: 32

Features

• 10W x 2 audio output
• Wide Color Enhancer Plus
• LED HDTV also makes it easy to be green
• ConnectShare? Movie
• 4 HDMI (ver 1.3), HDMI-CEC

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Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer
(February 2010)
What do you get when you combine Internet@TV with 120Hz Clear Motion Rate technology? The Samsung LED 6500. Get the best of the web, right on your HDTV, with downloadable and customizable widgets – and coming soon, Samsung apps. Connect to friends, share pictures, shop online and more. Samsung’s 120Hz Clear Motion Rate technology delivers smooth, natural action in every scene. Samsung LED backlighting technology and advanced processing deliver a picture with an exceptionally large range of contrast and color, making images appear more lifelike. And the 6500 is as beautiful as it is functional, with a design that complements virtually any room in the house.

Stunning at only 1.1 inch deep – includes tuner (no external transceiver box).

Key Features

• Screen Size: 32 inches
• Full 1080p HD resolution: Enjoy the powerful picture quality, vivid colors and stunning clarity of Full HD 1080p resolution.
• 120 Hz Clear Motion Rate: Samsung 120 Hz technology allows you to see fast action with a smoothness thats clearly ahead of the competition.
• Ultra Slim Design: Stunning ultra slim depth – includes tuner (no external transceiver box).
• Ultra Clear Panel: Advanced technology lets you enjoy crisp image details, natural skin tones, excellent shadow detail, and vibrant colors.
  
• Touch of Color: Exclusive Stone Black Touch of Color design combines texture and color that can complement any room.
  
• ConnectShare Movie: Connect a thumb drive or digital camera quickly and easily. User-friendly interface allows access to videos, a music playlist and pictures via the remote.
• SAMSUNG SMART TV: Connect to an ever-expanding portal of your favorite digital content. Customizable widgets give you access to
  BLOCKBUSTER, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Amazon Instant Video and more – all on your HDTV.
  
• Exceeds ENERGY STAR Standards: LED Energy Efficient, up to 50% less than the latest ENERGY STAR specification depending on series and screen size in standard mode.
  
• Game Mode enhances dark areas, sharpens the picture, speeds up the image processing response and enhances the sounds of your games. Picture and sound quality optimized for the special needs of gaming systems at the touch of a button.
• Wide Color Enhancer Pro delivers the entire spectrum of color and luminance for rich, saturated images with intense detail. 
• AllShare: Sync up your entire household. A wired or wireless DLNA connection lets you stream your PC audio and video files to your HDTV using your remote.
  
• 10 Watts x 2 audio power stereo broadcast reception: Supports multichannel sound (MTS)and second audio program (SAP) with 181-channel capacity.
• DNSe: Delivers high-quality sound with more natural effects than conventional methods by reproducing the "genuine" stereo sound.
  
• Warranty: 1 year parts and 1 year labor warranty (90 days parts and labor for commercial use), backed by Samsung toll-free support.
• Swivel Stand

Connections

• 4 HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) version 1.3:
    4 back
  HDMI makes it easy to connect your home theater with one cable per component.
• Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC): Allows peripheral AV devices such as a DVD player to be controlled by a Samsung TV remote control.
  
• USB: 2 back
• Component video input: 1 back
• Optical sound output: 1 back
  
• PC input: 1 back
• Ethernet: 1 back
  

Dimensions

• TV without stand: 30.3 x 19.0 x 1.1 inches (WxHxD); 18.7 pounds
• TV with stand: 30.3 x 21.2 x 10.5 inches (WxHxD); 22 pounds
• What size TV should you get?

Accessories

• 2010 LinkStick: Connect wirelessly to a world of digital content from Samsung. The LinkStick wireless LAN adaptor eliminates the hassle and cluttered look of wires. Learn more about the Samsung WIS09ABGN LinkStick Wireless LAN Adapter.

Learn More

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Wide Color Enhancer Pro

Delivers the entire spectrum of color and luminance for rich, saturated images with intense detail. Whereas blue and green shaded areas of the picture are washed out on conventional screens, wide color enhancer lets you experience more brilliant colors. Simply imagine a wider range of colors than you ever thought possible.

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ENERGY STAR

By being ENERGY STAR compliant you are assured that your Samsung model is helping the environment by using less energy while saving you money. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy promoting energy efficiency.

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SAMSUNG SMART TV

SAMSUNG SMART TV lets you enjoy more with Internet TV, allowing you to receive content via Yahoo!, Flickr, and more on screen. It also includes a content library so you can enjoy pre-loaded content, such as cooking recipes and fitness exercises. Plus, DLNA CERTIFIED connectivity lets you remotely access your PC's personal media so that you can download music, video, and photos and enjoy them anywhere in the home your TV is.1 1 Internet access and either Ethernet connection or wireless LAN access required.

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Which Size HDTV is Right for My Room?

With standard-definition TVs, the rule used to be that viewers would feel comfortable watching a set from a distance of 3 to 6 times the screen size in inches. With HDTV, the resolution is so much better that you can sit closer to a larger TV without noticing the pixels. So with HDTVs, the rule tends to be you can sit anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the screen size (in inches) for the best experience. If you know the size of the room you have already, where you want to sit, and where your new HDTV should go once you get it, you can figure out the size HDTV you should get. Minimum size = Viewing distance/3 Maximum size=Viewing distance/1.5

Amazon Instant Video

Watch Amazon Instant Video on This Device

• Choose from over 90,000 movies and TV shows, with thousands available in HD
• Purchase or rent the latest new release movies and TV shows
• Start a one-month free trial of Amazon Prime and get unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows
• Begin watching instantly - no waiting for a download
• Pause, fast-forward, rewind, or watch it over again - just like a DVD

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Customer Reviews

A Great TV Marred by Serious Flaws
NOTE: ADDENDUM BELOW TO LESSEN LED BACKLIGHT BLEED. Second Edit follows regarding LED switch-off.
NOTE: SECOND ADDENDUM REGARDING "PANEL LOTTERY"; Addition to info regarding settings to disable LED shutdown (6/30/10)
NOTE: THIRD ADDENDUM: New panel version # discovered :(

The Samsung 32" LED-LCD TV is a great unit, when used within a very limited fashion.

The LCD panel, as best I can I can determine is of the S-PVA variety, which provides good viewing angles, minimal color shift (assuming minimum viewing distance recommendations being followed), and good color gamut reproduction (>85% NTSC). However, this TV has some very serious flaws that make it a poor choice for many of the would-be purchasers that want a new bedroom TV or intend to use this as a computer monitor (as I do).

The first of these flaws is the edge lit LED backlighting. While it makes the image very vibrant (too much so until you calibrate the monitor properly), it also creates a VERY serious backlight bleed problem. On my set, on a screen that is completely black (minus some random area that isn't black - more on this below) I can see very large, very annoying, and very prominent light penetration from the edge mounted LEDs. While virtually unnoticeable in motion image viewing, it is slightly noticeable in static image viewing of moderate contrast, but is glaringly obvious when dark static imagery is displayed, or dark scenes viewed in movies/games. This phenomenon is so prominent that you can tell exactly where the bleed is, even during scenes with motion in them. One would not expect this to be present in a 32" display like it can be in the larger displays that have a larger (and brighter) set of LEDs.

The next problem is input lag. Activating the 120 Hz AutoMotion Plus mode makes playing games or even basic computer use impossible. There is a very distinct and frustratingly long 200ms (millisecond) delay in video image processing. Samsung knew of this ahead of time, which is made very obvious by the fact that the optical digital output has default delay setting of 100ms (the average time delay of the input lag). This unfortunately is only remedied by the activation of the Game Mode setting (Menu -> Plug&Play -> General -> Game Mode). Game Mode disables AutoMotion Plus, and the DNIe processor, leaving you with only basic brightness, contrast, white point balance, and backlight control (it also sets the picture type to Standard). This effectively turns your TV into a glorified basic LED backlit LCD computer monitor with speakers. When Samsung says "picture may be degraded", they mean simply that your TV will act as a barebones computer monitor with only basic functionality - the picture can still be relatively fine tuned via sharpness and the above mentioned controls, but lacks any enhancements from the DNIe processor. Unfortunately, this is the ONLY way you can use the TV as a computer monitor without pulling your hair out. It is also the only way you can play video games also - the input lag makes all but the least time-sensitive RPG type games unacceptably "out of sync" with the user's input. The one bright spot in this mess is that the image is still very clear, very crisp, and surprisingly smooth considering both the size of the display and the 60 Hz refresh rate.

Hinted above, the next problem is a serious flaw in the design of the TV that will be a deal breaker for many video game players. That problem is this: When the TV encounters an ALL BLACK signal, it doesn't just create black pixels within its LCD panel. Instead, it ***deactivates the LEDs themselves***. The LEDs are reactivated once any non-black information is received. This becomes a very apparent problem in games as many have cutscenes, and even live action scenes that fade to black momentarily. This causes the TV to turn its LEDs off completely and reactivate them only once it gets some non-black signal information. Unfortunately, there is a slight (25ms or so) lag when this occurs, and the user can actually miss the beginning of the next scene in a game, as that scene is cut off due to lag time inherent in reactivating the LEDs. This creates a very unnatural look and feel to the use of the TV. While LEDs are nearly instantaneous in their switching, this should not be a feature of the product. Ever. There is a HUGE difference between a backlit black image and a disabling of the LEDs completely. It totally destroys smooth scene transition and continuity. This is one problem Samsung can fix easily with a firmware update that lets the user disable this "undocumented feature".

The last of the flaws for this TV lies in its stand. The first problem with the stand is the visual design. The last thing you would want right under your TV is light being emitted via reflection, causing you to have distractions during viewing, but this stand does just that, as it is a polished aluminum type stand that WILL reflect light from the display. Their previous line's rectangular stand did not have this problem. The stand also has another nagging issue, and that is that it is insufficient for the TV's breadth and weight. Despite the TV being slim and not too heavy compared to conventional C/CCFL backlit LCD monitors, the TV leans forward about 3-5 degrees, even with the stand securely fastened via the five screws tightly. This causes colors near the bottom of the screen to appear washed out (faded about 20% compared to the center of the screen) unless the user(s)' eyes are at a level slightly below the screen's vertical centerline. The stand's lack of a tilt function (and way to lock the stand in place once it's adjusted) is simply unacceptable in this day and age of TV/monitor mounting technology. The "one size fits all" approach of the stand limits how and where you can effectively place this TV if you are unable to mount it to any of the varieties of wall mounts. Even a back-weighted mini-VESA table mount would be preferable to this mount, provided it wasn't polished aluminum.

This TV's LCD panel is bright, crisp, and remarkably clear itself. It would be nice if the panel wasn't glossy, as that does reflect ambient light somewhat, but this isn't a killer flaw like the ones mentioned above. The features that this TV has are very well done for the most part (streamed video format issues aside), and you do get a lot of display capability for this size class.

However, I cannot recommend this TV to anybody that plays games, or intends to do any computer work on it. The backlight flaws are serious, and the backlight bleed especially is horrendous, and makes this TV seem like a first generation product instead of the latest and greatest. This is one of the few Samsung products I've seen that goes below mediocrity and feels like corners were cut left and right on the basics, which gimp the esoteric features of the monitor. Also, the AutoMotion Plus 120 Hz mode actually interferes with the natural motion blur inherent in filmed video, causing a kitchy effect and creating an image that has virtually no depth to it at all and feels like you're watching full motion cardboard.

For the pricetag on this TV (approaching $1230 retail after taxes/recycling fees), one would hope that Samsung would have at least done some QA on the LED backlight before releasing this product. it feels rushed and overpriced considering the glaring flaws in the LED technology used.

Note of clarification: The LCD panel itself is great, and is a vast improvement over previous models. It is the LED *backlight* system that is flawed and needs to be addressed. Also note that "LED" TVs do not use LEDs for pixels. The video image is generated by standard LCD technology, with the LED part being the backlight, replacing the bulky CFL bulbs in previous generations of LCD displays. LED backlight advantages are near instantaneous switching (but not quite instantaneous as noted above), and they do not change colors over the span of their life like CFLs do.

My recommendation for purchasers is to find a Samsung display that uses what is called "Full Array/Local Dimming LED Backlighting". This type of LED backlight is rear mounted instead of edge mounted, and can be dimmed locally, providing exceptionally accurate color rendition with virtually zero backlight bleed. If you are like me and need a 32" TV/Monitor for specific purposes and/or reasons, save yourself some money and frustration and get the LN model instead of the UN model variant. This model's backlight flaws are too great to justify its exorbitant pricetag.

ADDENDUM:

I have found a way to help alleviate some of the backlight bleed and lessen the LEDs' turning off during black scenes. Here are the settings you'll need when using an HDMI connection:

HDMI Black Level: Normal
Shadow Detail: -2 (Default)
Gamma: 0 (Default)
Color Space: Native
Black Tone: Dark (Darker and Darkest work just like HDMI Black Level [Low] and shut down the LEDs) (Default)
Backlight: 14 (Default)
Brightness: Must be greater than 45 (46-100 will work)

With these settings, you will be able to maintain a very good picture quality while drastically lessening the backlight bleed, and lessening the effect of the LED switch-off during black scenes. Samsung's manual, website, and eveywhere else this TV is posted on fails to mention that the HDMI Black Level is the key to the LED turn off. When set to LOW the LEDs will turn off to simulate perfect blackness, which is bad during games. When set to NORMAL, the TV acts like a regular LCD monitor **if the Black Tone is set to OFF**. NOTE: This setting works in conjunction with Black Tone. If Black Tone is set to DARK, DARKER or DARKEST, it will override the HDMI Black Level [NORMAL] setting and turn off the LEDs as mentioned above. For this reason Black Tone [DARK] is the best compromise if you must have darker blacks, otherwise set it to OFF with HDMI Level [NORMAL] set to stop the LEDs from turning off, but at the cost of a degraded dark scene image.

I was able to verify this through extensive troubleshooting (3 hours!) because I had the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm teaser trailer on my computer. The first frame is total blackness. The second frame has a BARELY visible ESRB rating logo, leaving the edges black enough to check on the backlight bleed. Through careful calibration, I finally got good picture quality with less of an LED switch-off issue. YAY!

NOTE: Color Space should be set to NATIVE, or else the picture will look like you're watching the TV through fog or a screen door due to excessive grays.

I hope these details help potential purchasers of this TV. And thank you for actually reading through this long winded review. I wanted to give purchasers the most information to arm themselves with.

Sidenote: The reason that I presume Samsung did things the way they did with regard to the LED switch-off is to hide this TV's very severe design flaw with regard to the LED backlight bleed. On a totally black screen with HDMI Black Level [NORMAL] and Black Tone [OFF] you will definitely notice a butterfly pattern of light behind the LCD panel, as well as a spotlight effect coming from all four corners. Samsung would do well to just get rid of edge lit LED and use local dimming instead. It is FAR less prone to this problem while providing exceptional color accuracy.

BEWARE OF THE PANEL LOTTERY: Last year, Samsung had only two different manufacturers for their panels. This year, there are FIVE, count them FIVE. While not all of the manufacturers are known, there are some details known about the version numbers and what type of picture quality hit you can expect from each one. Here they are:

NOTE: Panel version numbers are in THREE PLACES - 1) On the side of the box. 2) On the back of the TV. 3) On the inside of the TV on the back of the panel itself (DO NOT open the TV to look!)

SQxx: "S" panels have the widest viewing angles of all of the panels for this series. The view from dead center takes a very slight (almost unnoticeable) picture quality hit compared to the "CN" panels, but is the best of the group for having many people over to watch sports. More prone to backlight bleed/clouding than "CN" panels. If you like sports and have friends that come over, ASK FOR A TV with "CN" as the beginning of the panel version number.

CNxx: "C" panels have the poorest viewing angles of all of the known panels at this time. Where they shine is their viewing from directly in front of the TV. If you use this as a computer monitor and/or do not view the TV from anywhere other than in front of it, this is the panel you want. Suffers much less from backlight bleed than the "SQ" panels, but this issue is still present (as noted in my review, which is a "CN" panel). If you use this TV as a monitor, ask for a TV with "CN" as the version number.

The other three panels that are more rarely seen (not seen enough to even review them!): GA, AO, BO. Because these three panel types are far less widely seen, no info really exists on them. You want the first two panel versions, preferrably SQ (unless you view from off-angles). ADDENDUM 07/01/10: A new panel "FB" has been seen in the 6000 series. That grows the panel lottery to SIX different manufacturers now. UGH.

P.S. - Avoid using TweakTV to search for calibration settings. You'll find much better calibration settings at AVSForums. Go there and do a search for "UN32C6500". The poster "hearrean" has very good settings, and the thread devoted to the 6000 series from Samsung is a goldmine for good info about this, and others in the 6000 series.
Great Video Technology
The Samsung LED TVs are incredible, alomost too good really. The video is so bright and sharp that even old movie classics can be mistaken for live news. There is actually a movie setting to make movies look less live. The HD is astonishing. I do not have Blue Ray but DVD movies are also phenomenal. We use this TV in our kitchen where we spend a lot of time watching news, movies and sports. Wimbledon 2010 looked like we were watching from VIP seats on court side. World Cup was incredible and Baseball is jaw-dropping great.

Sound is good on the TV but I use a Bose 321 for sound which is the perfect confined space size for news at low volume or high volume rock concerts. The Bose is a great match and its acoustimass subwoofer delivers as little or as much base as your ears can stand.

I had originally purchased the 46in. LED version of the Samsung for my office and a 32in. Panasonic LCD for the kitchen. But the Samsung in my office proved so good that two weeks later I gave away the new kitchen Panasonic (ouch) and replaced it with this new 32in. Samsung LED for the kitchen. The reviews I saw say the larger and higher model Samsung TVs are even better. I do not work for Samsung and I never write these review things but there's no going back now. See for yourself. WOW!
A big disappointment
I really liked the physical design of this set a lot, and I really tried to like the set overall, but it has problems.

Firstly, this set has poor off-angle picture quality. Anything other than straight on looks washed out.

Secondly, what is with the cartoony user interface? It looks like it was designed by a little girl.

Thirdly, the remote looks like a cheap 3rd party replacement remote. Definitely not of the same caliber as the TV itself.

But most objectionable is the backlighting. It drove me bonkers. When the average brightness of the displayed image falls below some threshold, the backlight drops in intensity. This is particularly evident in scenes like the space-plane and space-station ballet sequence in "2001", where very bright things enter and exit against a very dark background . It really spoils the viewing experience to have the white things' brightness modulating. White text on dark background is also a problem. Presumably, the backlight dims to make the blacks seem blacker, but it also makes the whites grayer.

And there's no way to turn this "feature" off.

So I sent it back. I am now the happy owner of a Sony 32ex700, which while not nearly as physically attractive as the 32c6500, is much easier to live with day to day